Photographer.

Saturday 2, 2018

There’s a story you’ll likely hear if you visit university libraries across the country. It comes up often, and it goes like this: An architect set out to design a library but, in his or her starry-eyed effort to create an architectural marvel and secure a place in history, forgot to allow for the weight of the books. As a result, the library began to sink. The building failed. And millions of dollars went down the drain.

This story, though extremely popular, is an urban legend. There’s no record of it, but the cautionary tale extends far beyond the field of architecture.

The dental equivalent is when you build a practice and forget about the patients dental air compressor. At this point, you’re probably thinking something like, “Me? Definitely not! All I do is think about the patients. You need your head examined.”

You might want to revisit that. The odds are that you’re leaving the patient out of your digital marketing and don’t even know it.

Dentists rarely account for patients in their marketing. Rather than focusing on addressing the wants and needs of prospects, dentists talk about themselves or worry too much about the practice down the street.

The We-We Problem

Private practice dentists often are one-person shows. They treat the patients, handle the finances, manage day-to-day operations, hire and fire employees, and promote the practice. The list goes on and on. And with all of these hats, it’s natural to want to talk about yourself when reaching out to prospective patients. After all, you’re running the show. Your practice may even have your name on it portable dental unit.

That can lead a dentist to focus on marketing to impress other dentists. Have you filled your current web content with technical dental jargon, clunky scholarly terms, and information about your certifications? If so, your dental school professors would be proud, but this content won’t resonate with prospective patients.

You’ve become another casualty of the We-We problem. Once you know what it is, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Here’s the quick way to know whether you have this problem. Does your website focus on you and your practice, or does it focus on how you can solve your patients’ dental problems?

If a quick scan of your website reveals phrases like “We have the best, friendliest staff,” or “We use the latest technology,” then you have a “We” problem. All dental practices claim to have the best staff. They all also claim to use great technology. Online content like this gives readers no information about what makes your practice unique or why they should choose you to solve their dental problems. There’s nothing in it for the patient. This may sound harsh, but your prospects don’t care about you. They care only about how you can help them dental equipment.